Sexual Intercourse, as I have suggested, is for most people a deeply moving experience, not something to be played around with casually. It almost always involvees not only the body but also the mind and emotions - one's deepest feelings. It also involves nature's menas for carrying on the human race. The facts explain why, when a couple have intercourse as an expression to each other, it can bring them even closer together.

But when two pleple do not care about each other, they may feel guilty or ashamed after having intercourse. This is especially true of girls. When sexual inter-course is undertaken too lightly, it goes against the customs and moral feelings developed through many generations of our culture. If these feelings are deeply engrained in people as a part of their upbringing, premarital intercourse (intercourse before marriage) may result in their not feeling quite right about themselves, and it may make it more difficult for them, later on, to take part in a good, happy sexual relationship.

However, there are no reliable statistics that show that people who have premarital intercourse are more or less likely to have successful and happy marriages than those who do not. True, there are many people who make quite confident statements on this matter- either for or against premarital intercourse- but their statements are more matters of personal belief or of what they think ought to be the case than of what can be shown to be the case, based on facts.

The major religions in the Western World teach that it is morally wrong to have sexual intercourse outside of marriage, although in recent years many churches have relaxed their teaching about this, especially about premarital intercourse. Fortunately, today many churches provide sex and family-life education to help young people deal responsibility with their sexuality. However, if people's religions do teach that premarital intercourse is wrong and they disregard the teaching, they may feel guilty, and this feeling may isolate them from a source of strength, comfort, and confidence that would help them.

Young unmarried people who have sexual intercourse take a risk; the couple may have child, which will very likely be a tragedy for both of them and for the baby, because the parents are rarely mature enough to marry and establish a family. Neither one is ready to earn a living to support a family; both the boy and girl probably should have years of education ahead of the, which marriage may interrupt. If they had waited, they would have been wiser, more stable, and more experienced in life - better prepared to choose a marriage partner and to manage family life. Therefore, if an unmarried couple is going to engage in intercourse, they should do so only after thinking about it and exploring their feelings with great care.

It would be best if they were able to find some older and under-standing person with whom they could talk confidentially without fear of being disapproved of or condemned. Such a person could help them think through all the pros and cons. Certainly, if they decide to have sex, they should make careful plans for contraception and not just 'take a chance' by allowing themselves to be swept into it by the emotions of the moment, which may be quite different from the emotions of loving and caring.